Bank offers flexi-options

Banking giant HSBC is to guarantee part-time work at current title and salary grade for all parents returning from maternity and paternity leave.

The bank has announced that it will offer a part-time role equivalent to 2.5 days a week so that staff can “balance the demands of family life with their career development”.

It claims to be the first large corporate employer in the UK to do this — there is currently no legal obligation on employers to provide part-time work, although by law parents have a right to request it.

Staff seeking an extended period of leave will also be offered a one-year unpaid sabbatical and a “priority returner scheme” if they rejoin HSBC within five years.

Sue Jex, head of employee relations at the bank, said: “We hope that by guaranteeing part-time roles we can encourage those women who want to continue to their careers and allow them to reach the levels to which they aspire.”